Nasa Plans 6 Unmanned Launches In '87

CAPE CANAVERAL — The space agency plans to launch only six unmanned rockets in 1987, officials said Monday.

The announcement marks one of NASA's leanest flight schedules and reflects the post-Challenger delay in the shuttle program.

The schedule calls for the launch of three Deltas, one of them carrying a Star Wars payload, two Atlas-Centaurs and one small Scout. A space shuttle will not fly again until at least Feb. 18, 1988.

Here are details of the schedule:

-- Feb. 19. Delta No. 179. Payload: a weather satellite bound for an orbit above the equator to monitor weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and North America. A similar satellite was destroyed May 3 in a Delta failure.

-- March 19. Delta No. 182. Payload: an Indonesian Palapa B2-P communications satellite that originally was scheduled for launch aboard a space shuttle last summer.

-- May 21. Atlas-Centaur No. 68. Payload: another Fleet SatCom communications satellite. This is NASA's last planned launch of an Atlas- Centaur, although the rocket could launch a commercial payload later.